Barbie Feet

It has been exactly two weeks since my double foot surgery, and looking back on my previous posts, I have realized that I never thoroughly explained why I had these procedures.  Of course I attribute this information omission to the fact that I'm writing this blog ass-backwards.  At any rate, let me give you a short history leading up to my surgery.

One of the results of the nerve damage I received from my accident is that I have Chronic Foot Drop.  This means that whichever nerve operates my feet and ankles was damaged and I do not have the power to point or flex my feet at the ankles or wiggle my toes (I could move a few toes right after my accident, but not anymore!).  Therefore, my feet flop into a limp pointing position when I'm seated or lying down, and while walking I have to wear ankle braces to keep my limp feet from dragging on the ground and tripping me.

However, within a few months of my accident I began to notice that my feet and toes were beginning to stiffen into that pointed position, a position I like to call "Barbie Feet".  When I would wake up in the morning, my Achilles tendons would be so tight and contracted that upon getting out of bed I would have to stand still for about five minutes on my tippy-toes and allow my body weight to slowly push my heels back on the ground. 

This was really no problem until I stopped going to work everyday and started getting lazy, not walking much if I could help it and not stretching my feet enough.  My foot drop quickly worsened, and after spending a month on bed-rest due to a toe infection, my poor little Barbie feet were so bad that no matter how much I stretched them or stood on them, I could no longer push my heels to the floor!  Actually, my Achilles tendons were so tight that my ankles started bending and twisting in weird directions, so that only the big toe of each foot was on the ground, and I was afraid that I would eventually snap my ankles in half.

As you can imagine, it was very difficult to walk with all that going on below the ankles.  I had been told by several doctors in the US and Spain that I would need the Achilles lengthening/tendon transfer surgeries if I wanted to walk properly again, but I fought it.  After all, it was just some tight muscles...surely I could stretch them back out if I put my mind to it?

I later learned that with spinal cord injuries and nerve damage, the "Barbie Feet" syndrome is actually quite common, and sometimes no amount of stretching or exercise can prevent it from getting worse, especially in the first eighteen months following one's accident.  As you can imagine, I was thrilled to shift the blame away from my laziness to the injury! 

So now I have had the surgeries to loosen up the Achilles contractures and to bring my feet back into pleasant ninety-degree angles.  The doctors actually performed more procedures on my right foot because A) it was worse and B) they wanted to make sure the surgery was successful, as I'm still in the 18-month-things-could-still-get-worse range.  They also put metal pins through each toe of my right foot to straighten them out, as even the little muscles in my toes have tightened, creating little claws.

I will still have plenty of physical therapy ahead of me (probably for the rest of my life), and I must always wear ankle braces while I walk and when I sleep to keep my feet from permanently dropping again, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that my feet will not regress and I will not need a repeat of this surgery in the future.  I am also looking forward to walking again (albeit on my trusty crutches)!

Tomorrow is my first follow-up appointment with Hot Doctor since the surgery...hopefully all is healing well and I will trade in my post-op splints for a pair of fancy plaster casts.

Bye-bye Barbie Feet!